Why we love old movie locations — especially the Iverson Movie Ranch

For an introduction to this blog and to the growing interest in historic filming locations such as the Iverson Movie Ranch — the most widely filmed outdoor location in movie and TV history — please read the site's introductory post, found here.
• Your feedback is appreciated — please leave comments on any of the posts.
• To find specific rock features or look up movie titles, TV shows, actors and production people, see the "LABELS" section — the long alphabetical listing on the right side of the page, below.
• To join the MAILING LIST, send me an email at iversonfilmranch@aol.com and let me know you'd like to sign up.
• I've also begun a YouTube channel for Iverson Movie Ranch clips and other movie location videos, which you can get to by clicking here.
• Readers can email the webmaster at iversonfilmranch@aol.com
.

Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The year(s) in review: Top 20 Iverson Movie Ranch and nearby filming location finds of 2018-2019

Have you been wondering what happened to the Iverson Movie Ranch Blog's annual list of our "Top 10 Finds" of the year? We skipped last year but I'm happy to report that the list is back to wrap up 2019 (and 2018 too).

We've expanded !!!

This year's list is expanded to a Top 20, covering two years' worth of finds. The list also reflects the wider net we've been casting in the past few years as we expand beyond the boundaries of the Iverson Ranch to explore the many interesting historical filming locations around Chatsworth, the San Fernando Valley and beyond ...

No. 16


  "Panic Rock" turns up in the William S. Hart movie "Wolves of the Rail"



William S. Hart and a distinctive rock: promo still for "Wolves of the Rail" (1918)

As a special bonus, here's a Chatsworth, Calif., movie rock find from November 2019 that hasn't been published before. The above promo shot for the silent movie "Wolves of the Rail," filmed more than 100 years ago, features legendary movie cowboy William S. Hart standing next to what was, until recently, a "mystery rock."

The same rock in 2019, overlooking the Santa Susana Pass

We found the rock in November, and as it turns out, it's a rock we drive past all the time. It's located just off Santa Susana Pass Road, 1.2 miles west of the old entrance to the Iverson Movie Ranch.

"Panic Rock" — the same rock seen in the William S. Hart photo

It's hard to miss "Panic Rock" on the drive between Chatsworth and Simi Valley (or between the Iverson Ranch and Corriganville, to put it in movie location terms). The rock is named after the movie "Panic in Year Zero."

"Panic in Year Zero" (1962): The Bomb falls on L.A.

The rock has been in its share of movies over the years, including the Cold War drama "Panic in Year Zero." In this shot the Baldwin family pulls over in the Santa Susana Pass to watch the atom bomb destroy Los Angeles.

"Panic Rock" can be found in the exact spot where the Baldwins decided to pull off the road. They couldn't get away with it today — there's no parking anywhere near there.

This shot from the movie shows Panic Rock without Ray Milland blocking the view. But the framing of the shot emphasizes the mushroom cloud and cuts off most of the rock — the horror!

"Panic in Year Zero" — Just before the bomb went off

Here's a look at Panic Rock moments earlier in the movie. Of course, it's not the same without the big Kerboom! Click here to see more shots from "Panic in Year Zero," which also filmed a lot on the Iverson Movie Ranch.

Postcard looking northeast along Santa Susana Pass, ca. 1912 (Chatsworth Historical Society)

Thanks to an old postcard, we can trace the history of Panic Rock and Santa Susana Pass even before William S. Hart dropped by in late 1917. I recommend clicking on the image to see a larger version of this detailed photo.

The postcard, which was unearthed by Chatsworth Historical Society researchers Ann and Ray Vincent, features a picture taken by prolific photographer H.F. Rile, a key figure in the early documentation of the Los Angeles area.

In addition to Panic Rock the photo features the Chatsworth Grade Road, which was the main route between the San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley before Santa Susana Pass Road was built in 1917.

A small section of the "cut" for the Chatsworth Grade Road can be seen in the William S. Hart picture, but Hart would have arrived at Panic Rock via what was at the time the brand-new Santa Susana Pass Road.

The Chatsworth Grade Road remains more or less intact today, but these days it's a hiking trail.

The H.F. Rile postcard photo from about 1912 also captures a section of the Iverson Ranch, which is said to have opened its gates to its first film crews around the same time.

Ray and Ann Vincent put together an eye-popping presentation on H.F. Rile's postcards of early Chatsworth, which can be found by clicking here. While at the site you can also find their other incredible work on Chatsworth history.


Panic Rock's appearance in the "Wolves of the Rail" promo shot comes in at No. 16 on the Top 20 list, but let's get to the countdown of the full list: Here are the top 20 movie finds of 2018-2019 ...


No. 20


An obscure Iverson Movie Ranch rock seen in "Cherokee Strip" 

 


"Cherokee Strip" (Warner Bros., 1937): A rock north of the Garden of the Gods

This promo still from the Dick Foran B-Western "Cherokee Strip" turned up from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives, and we were able to track down the ice creamy rock that "stars" in the photo. Today it's partially hidden beneath foliage, but it still has much of its original "flavor."


• Click here to see our post from August 2019 documenting the discovery of this unusual movie rock on the Iverson Ranch, which includes a map to show you how to find the rock today.


No. 19


Buffalo Kill Rock, as seen in the "Buffalo Kill" episode of "Bat Masterson" in 1959

 

"Bat Masterson" episode "Buffalo Kill" (1959): Buffalo Kill Rock

This was a hard rock to find as it was concealed behind a bunch of scrub brush, but Tyler Malone spotted it clinging to the north face of Cactus Hill overlooking the former Upper Iverson.


• Click here to see the post from September 2019 where we introduced readers to Buffalo Kill Rock. (Scroll down a bit until you see the rock.)


No. 18


Filming location for the 1922 Rudolph Valentino movie "The Young Rajah"

 

"The Young Rajah" (Paramount, 1922): Iverson's Garden of the Gods

The Rudolph Valentino silent feature "The Young Rajah" is impossible to find in its entirety, but enough of it has been assembled and re-created from stills that we were able to find a big battle scene filmed in the Garden of the Gods.


• Click here to see the post from February 2018 breaking down the historic Iverson Movie Ranch shoot in 1922 for Rudolph Valentino's "The Young Rajah."


No. 17


Tyler Malone's interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch

 


Interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch and other area filming locations

Fans of the Iverson Movie Ranch and other filming locations in Chatsworth and the Simi Valley area got a nice surprise in September 2019 when movie location explorer Tyler Malone unveiled his interactive map pinpointing specific movie rocks and other features. Zoom in on the map above and click on the blue tags to get an idea how it works.


• Click here to get the full lowdown on the interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch and other area filming locations in our post from September 2019.

No. 16


  "Panic Rock" turns up in the William S. Hart movie "Wolves of the Rail"


"Wolves of the Rail" (1918): William S. Hart visits Panic Rock

We went into detail at the top of this post about this promo still for "Wolves of the Rail," filmed in late 1917 and released in early 1918. William S. Hart is seen at Panic Rock in the Santa Susana Pass.


• Go to the top of this post to see more about Panic Rock and "Wolves of the Rail."


No. 15


An in-depth examination of Iverson's Upper Gorge


"Wee Willie Winkie" set in the Iverson Gorge (1937)

The Iverson Movie Ranch Blog did some of its most intensive research yet in 2019 to get to the bottom of the heavily filmed Upper Gorge and get a better handle on which rocks survived and which were destroyed when the Cal West Townhomes were built in the 1980s.


• Click here to see our post from June 2019 examining the Iverson Movie Ranch's Upper Gorge, including the footprint of the condos that today occupy much of the former filming location.


No. 14


A tricky "Dick Turpin" promo still


Promo still for "Dick Turpin" (Fox Film Corp., 1925): Tom Mix climbs a rock

At first we couldn't see the "trick" to the promo still that surfaced from Marc Wanamaker's Bison Archives for the 1925 Tom Mix movie "Dick Turpin," but now we can't unsee it: The photo is sideways. If we rotate it clockwise 90 degrees, we can match it up with a familiar Iverson Movie Ranch filming location.


• Click here to see the photo from all pertinent directions in our post about it from December 2018, where we also delve into Bob Hope's visit to Lone Ranger Rock and Norma Shearer's 1925 exploits on the Iverson Ranch — and as a bonus, check out adorable Renee Adoree with everything from a ukulele to a contrabass balalaika.


No. 13


Planter Rock, and the end of the myth of End Rock

 

"20 Million Miles to Earth" (1957): The late, great End Rock and Ray Harryhausen's "Ymir"

In December 2018 we finally got to the bottom of the rock in the planter outside the clubhouse at the Indian Hills Mobile Home Village, and found out it has a history in the movies. No, it's not the fabled movie rock known as "End Rock" — that was always the myth, but it turned out to be just that: a myth.


• Click here to see our post from December 2018 shattering the myth of End Rock and revealing the true movie history of Planter Rock.


No. 12


Quentin Tarantino re-creates Spahn Ranch at Corriganville

 

Quentin Tarantino's 2018 re-creation of the Spahn Ranch stakeside truck (Jerry Condit photo)

We tracked the construction of Quentin Tarantino's "Spahn Ranch" set at Corriganville for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" in a series of posts published in fall 2018. The construction mobilized area movie location fans, who flocked to Corriganville to see the set in person. Tarantino's attention to detail in the re-creation was remarkable, invoking memories of the real Spahn Ranch, which was once located across the street from the Iverson Movie Ranch.


• Click here to see our post from August 2018 examining the new construction at Corriganville — at first we thought they might be rebuilding Corriganville itself — and delving a bit into Corriganville history.

• Click here to go to our post from September 2018 taking a detailed look at the Tarantino Spahn Ranch set, including some "Spahn Ranch then and now" shots.
  
• Click here for our post from October 2018 with additional views of the Tarantino set, more "then and now" shots and details about the set teardown at Corriganville.


No. 11


An intruder rock disturbs the peace at the west end of the Sphinx

 

Tracking the downfall of the "intruder rock" at the west end of the Sphinx

In a post published in July 2018, and a follow-up post in December 2018, we pretty much figured out what happened that changed the landscape around the Sphinx, one of the Iverson Movie Ranch's most famous rocks. Sometime between when the TV series "The Lone Ranger" filmed that corner of the rock in 1949 and when we started studying the location some 60 years later, a chunk of rock big enough to crush the two Cavalry men positioned there in "The Lone Ranger" broke loose and lodged itself right where it could get in the way of everything.


• Click here to see our original post from July 2018 speculating about where the intruder rock came from (we had it wrong the first time through), including photos of those Cavalry guys in "The Lone Ranger" — they got out in time — and a breakdown of what the site looks like today.

• Click here for a follow-up on the intruder rock as part of a post in December 2018 where we were able to tie up some loose ends thanks to the "Dick Turpin" photo seen at No. 14 on this list.


No. 10


The Norma Shearer Rocks and "Excuse Me Point"

 

"Excuse Me" (MGM, 1925): Norma Shearer and Conrad Nagel hug it out on the Norma Shearer Rocks

The Iverson Movie Ranch rock feature that Norma Shearer sat on when she was filming "Excuse Me" in 1925 could have easily been lost to history. My own search for the rocks was stymied for some time because they were concealed under a dead tree that fell in just the wrong place. But some timely brush removal helped bring these historic rocks to light.


• Click here to see the post from February 2019 about the Norma Shearer Rocks.

Norma Shearer on "Excuse Me Point," deep in the Garden of the Gods

The second half of our Norma Shearer-"Excuse Me" mystery was even harder to solve than the first. It was Tyler Malone who managed to decipher the clues in the depths of the Garden of the Gods to unearth the pointed rock we are now calling "Excuse Me Point."

• Click here to see modern-day photos of "Excuse Me Point" toward the bottom of our post from September 2019 about Tyler's interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch.


No. 9


Unlocking the secrets of a mysterious set in the Iverson Gorge

 

Pond set for the movie "Flight Into Nowhere" (Columbia, 1938)

We were mystified for years by this photo of an unusual set featuring a pond and a small adobe structure, but after spotting bits of it in the backgrounds of various productions, we eventually pieced together not only where it was — in a location I call "the Pit" in the Upper Gorge — but also which movie it was made for, the Jack Holt adventure "Flight Into Nowhere."


• Click here to see our post from October 2018 spotlighting this unusual set and unusual chapter in Iverson Movie Ranch history.


No. 8


"Morocco Cave": Walking in the footsteps of Gary Cooper in the Garden of the Gods

 

"Morocco" (Paramount, 1930): Gary Cooper emerges from Morocco Cave

In a post from December 2018 we followed the path taken through an obscure stretch of the Garden of the Gods by Gary Cooper in the 1930 Paramount drama "Morocco" to find the mysterious cave seen above, along with other rocky locations seen in the movie.


• Click here to see our post from December 2018 documenting the discovery of "Morocco Cave."


No. 7


Filming locations on the former Roy Rogers Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif.

 

"The Roy Rogers Show": One of many distinctive movie rocks on Roy and Dale's
former ranch that remain in place today in Chatsworth

In May 2019 we published the results of what we think is the first serious attempt to explore the former Roy Rogers Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., to find specific filming locations used in "The Roy Rogers Show." In the process we also revisited the legacy left behind by Roy and Dale, including their impressive merchandising empire and their various homes, ranches and filming locations.


• Click here to see our report from May 2019 on the Roy Rogers Ranch and some of the myths and legends surrounding Roy and Dale, including "then-and-now" photos of filming locations from the show.


No. 6


An elaborate Tom Mix stunt from 1928 near the Garden of the Gods

 

"Painted Post" (Fox, 1928): A trick oil derrick falls before the Gods of the Iverson Ranch

A blog post from July 2019 reveals the story behind a series of photos from a complex 1928 stunt involving Tom Mix for the lost silent film "Painted Post," carried out in the shadows of the Iverson Ranch's Garden of the Gods. We also revisited the extraordinary legacy of the early movie cowboy and circus star, who oversaw a diverse merchandising empire that raised the bar for Roy Rogers and other famous movie cowboys who arrived later.


• Click here to see our post from July 2019 about Tom Mix, his merchandising empire and his wild oil derrick stunt on the Iverson Movie Ranch in 1928.


No. 5


A hilltop shooting location for the 1911 movie "The Outbreak"

 

"The Outbreak" (Selig, 1911): Two women held captive on a hilltop in the Santa Susana Mountains

It's the oldest filming location we've ever found, and how the crew for the lost 1911 Western "The Outbreak" found its way to the top of that rocky hill remains a mystery. But for us, finding the location was as much fun as it was challenging, and our post from March 2018 about this site for the pre-Hollywood Western "The Outbreak" reveals that more than a quarter-century later the location would become a part of another sprawling movie ranch.


• Click here to see our post from March 2018 about this historic location where filmmakers decided to shoot a Western in the years before there was a Hollywood.


No. 4


Lone Ranger Rock Steps

 

"They Died With Their Boots On" (Warner Bros., 1941): Behind-the-scenes photo
reveals a set of old movie steps near Lone Ranger Rock

The origin of a set of steps near Lone Ranger Rock on the Lower Iverson remains a mystery, but the coolest thing about the steps is that they can still be found today. We reported in January 2019 on our successful expedition into the Iverson Gorge to find the steps, which may be the oldest surviving movie artifacts on the Iverson Ranch.


• Click here to see our post from January 2019 about the Lone Ranger Rock Steps.


No. 3


The site where new footage was filmed in 1954 for the opening to "The Lone Ranger"

 

"The Lone Ranger" (1954): New desert footage added to the opening sequence

The TV show "The Lone Ranger" and its familiar opening are most closely associated with the Iverson Movie Ranch and Lone Ranger Rock, but when the show's producers decided to add footage to the opening in 1954 to mark the return of Clayton Moore to the series, they filmed it in a picturesque location in the desert outside Los Angeles. We found the spot, and discovered that the show didn't just film the new opening there, but also shot a bunch of new action footage for season four.


"The Lone Ranger" (the hated third season): Tonto negotiates some shamefully bad fake rocks

Published in April 2019, our post about the "Lone Ranger's" desert filming location also examines some of the worst fake rocks ever seen in the movies and on television.

• Click here to see "then-and-now" shots from "The Lone Ranger" and learn all about the TV show's shoot in the desert outside L.A. in our post from April 2019 — and check out some historically bad fake rocks.


No. 2


Chatsworth's Squaw Man Bluff and Alpine Bump, seen in Hollywood's first feature film

 

"The Squaw Man" (Lasky, 1914): A bluff in Chatsworth that has confounded historians

We had been looking for about 10 years for the rocky hilltop appearing in the so-called "Alpine sequence" from Cecil B. DeMille's "The Squaw Man," filmed in late 1913, released in early 1914 and considered to be Hollywood's first feature film. Then one day, suddenly, there it was, in the hills above Chatsworth — one of the most breathtaking moments we've had in the many years we've been staring at rocks.


• Click here to see our post from August 2019 documenting the discovery of what had been, up until then, one of the most important lost shooting locations in Hollywood history.


No. 1


The site of Elderbush Gulch and other early D.W. Griffith filming locations

 

"The Battle at Elderbush Gulch" (1913): D.W. Griffith's town of Elderbush Gulch,
built on his ranch in the San Fernando Valley

We thought nothing could top the discovery of the historic Squaw Man Bluff and Alpine Bump above Chatsworth, but just a few weeks later we unlocked the secrets of the D.W. Griffith Ranch in San Fernando, including finding the location of Elderbush Gulch. We think it's the first time specific filming locations on the ranch have been matched with movie shots from Griffith's early films.


• Click here to see our post from October 2019 about D.W. Griffith's San Fernando movie ranch, including "then-and-now" shots from several of his movies filmed on the ranch circa 1912-1913.



Here are a few finds from the past two years that didn't quite make it into the Top 20 — click on the text to be linked to the original blog items ...










To catch up on additional discoveries on the Iverson Movie Ranch in recent years, here are links to past "Year in Review" posts ...

Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2017



Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2016



Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2015

Top 10 Iverson Movie Ranch finds of 2014

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

A movie location explorer's adventures on the Iverson Ranch — and in Lone Pine, Calif.

Tyler Malone peers around the "Sliver" near Desert Tortoise on the Lower Iverson

A relative newcomer to the Iverson Movie Ranch — and I can call him that because I've been studying the ranch for more than 11 years and I still consider myself a newcomer too — is movie location adventurer Tyler Malone.


Interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch and nearby filming locations

Tyler came out of the chute this year with guns blazing, contributing some nice rock finds along with his terrific interactive map of the Iverson Movie Ranch and nearby filming locations.

Here's where you can always find the interactive map

I know a number of readers have already become fans of Tyler's movie location research thanks to his interactive Iverson map. You can always link to it at the right of this page under "LABELS" — it's the first item.

If you'd like to learn more about the map and how it works, you can also click here to see the post we did back in September introducing the map — and you can link from that item to the map itself.

"Mystery Mountain" (Mascot serial, 1934)

Tyler recently set out to find a rock on the Lower Iverson that caught his eye in this promo still for the old Ken Maynard serial "Mystery Mountain." His successful search made it clear that he's a skilled rock sleuth.

In the photo, Edmund Cobb, in an uncredited role as "The Rattler," has our hero "Ken Williams," played by Ken Maynard, in a stranglehold.

Because of this shot, we began referring to the rock they're standing on as "Stranglehold Rock." But the key to finding it would turn out to be the rock in the bottom left corner.

Some readers may have already figured out where this discussion was headed, but I initially didn't recognize the "unknown rock," and Tyler surprised me when he said it was the Sphinx.

Markers identified on the Sphinx, as it appeared in "Mystery Mountain" in 1934

Tyler provided this shot identifying some of the markers on the rock that can be found in the "Mystery Mountain" stranglehold shot.

The same markers identified on the Sphinx as it appears today

He also pointed out the same markers in this recent photo of the Sphinx.

Stranglehold Rock and the Sphinx in a poster for Chapter 5

Something that surfaced a little bit later was this poster for one of the chapters of "Mystery Mountain," showing more of both the Sphinx and Stranglehold Rock. The Sphinx is easier to recognize here than in the promo still.

Target area for "Stranglehold Rock" (Google aerial view)

With the Sphinx identified the search area could be narrowed way down. Even so, finding Stranglehold Rock posed its share of challenges, as I found out when I poked around the target area and couldn't find it.

On one of Tyler's visits to the target zone he found a big, messy tree where he had determined Stranglehold Rock should be located.

Stranglehold Rock in 2019

Poking his head inside the morass of tangled brush under the tree, he found what he was looking for: Stranglehold Rock, engulfed by the tree and its scrubby ecosystem.

Tyler noted a few key markers on the rock to illustrate that it's the same rock appearing in "Mystery Mountain."

The markers can be seen again here, in a blowup from the "Mystery Mountain" poster. The shot also reveals where the actors' feet were positioned during the stranglehold sequence.

A Google aerial shows the Sphinx, in the red circle, and the Stranglehold Rock tree, marked by a blue arrow. The Garden of the Gods Trail, visible at top center, will get you there from your parking spot on Redmesa Road.

Ken Maynard on the Lower Iverson (promo still for "Mystery Mountain," 1934)

Another fun promo still from "Mystery Mountain" shows Ken Maynard taking aim from behind a sliver of a rock, which still stands today on the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch.

"Mystery Mountain": Ken Maynard behind the sliver

The promo still is based on this scene in the serial. As usual, the promo still is a huge improvement on the picture quality seen in the movie itself.

Tyler Malone takes cover behind the same "sliver" of a rock.

If the shot looks familiar, it's because of the picture of Tyler that appears at the top of this post. Tyler positioned himself behind the same rock sliver to re-create the "Mystery Mountain" shot.

It's kind of obvious here, but this is the rock I keep referring to as the "sliver."

It's probably a little less obvious in the promo still, because next to the sliver rock is another rock that also has "slivery" characteristics.

We can call this one "Rock B" for the time being, as it may help get a handle on some of the more interesting rocks in that corner of the Lower Iverson Movie Ranch.

"Mystery Mountain: A wider shot of Desert Tortoise and the "Sliver" rock

This wider shot from the same sequence in "Mystery Mountain" doesn't have nearly the detail of the promo still, but what it lacks in picture quality it makes up for by showing several of the area's key rocks.

The shot includes the "Sliver," with Ken Maynard behind it, along with "Rock B," a larger rock to its left that we can call "Rock C," and of course, Desert Tortoise, which is sort of the mother of all rocks in that immediate area.

"Mystery Mountain": The shootout, from Ken's side

The embarrassment of riches that is "Mystery Mountain" also offers this cool shot from a reverse angle.

Again, I wish the picture quality were better, but at least we can still make out the main features.

Desert Tortoise in modern times

Desert Tortoise is this big rock located just northwest of the main Garden of the Gods area. It was situated next to an old movie road and became one of the more heavily filmed rocks on the Lower Iverson.

Desert Tortoise in "Law of the Ranger" (Columbia, 1937)

I've blogged about Desert Tortoise before, and if you click here you can see a post about some of its movie history, along with an explanation of why I call it "Desert Tortoise" — and there's a map to help you find the rock.

The key features are identified again here, as seen in a screen shot from the Bob Allen Western "Law of the Ranger." Of the four rocks identified, only two — Desert Tortoise and the "Sliver" — have survived.

"Law of the Ranger" marked one of the final shoots for Rocks B and C, which were removed around 1937 — presumably so stagecoaches and groups of riders could more easily negotiate the road past Desert Tortoise.

"Days of Jesse James" (Republic, 1939)

By 1939, when Roy Rogers filmed "Days of Jesse James" on the Iverson Ranch, Rocks "B" and "C" were no longer in place and the road had been widened.

"Mystery Mountain": Ken Maynard stands on a mystery rock

Another interesting promo still from "Mystery Mountain" is this one showing Ken Maynard standing on a rock that Tyler and I have been searching for without any success. If you happen to recognize it, please get in touch.

"Bat Masterson" episode "Buffalo Kill" (1959): Buffalo Kill Rock

Stranglehold Rock isn't Tyler's first Iverson Movie Ranch find — he also found this rock, which had me stumped for some time. I've been calling it "Buffalo Kill Rock" because of the "Bat Masterson" episode where it appears.

Buffalo Kill Rock as it appears today

The rock doesn't look much like its "Bat Masterson" photo anymore — at least not from any angles we can see today. I talked about the discovery of this rock back in September, and you can read more about it here.

Promo still for "Excuse Me" (1925): Norma Shearer on "Excuse Me Point"

Tyler also tracked down a rock I call "Excuse Me Point," where Norma Shearer was filmed for the 1925 silent feature "Excuse Me." Click here to see a discussion of this find in the same September blog post.

"King of the Pecos" tour, 2019 Lone Pine Film Festival (Don Kelsen drone photo)

Something I didn't get to do this year was go to the annual Lone Pine Film Festival in October, but Tyler attended and reported back, including sending some cool photos from Lone Pine's Alabama Hills.

Natalie Wood in "The Great Race" (1965), and Tyler Malone visiting the same spot

Above is a screen shot of Natalie Wood in the Alabama Hills from "The Great Race." Below Natalie is Tyler's recent re-creation of the scene.

Kevin Bacon in the Alabama Hills in "Tremors" (1990), and Tyler's re-creation

The campy 1990 sci-fi/horror movie "Tremors," starring Kevin Bacon, filmed heavily in the Lone Pine area, and here Tyler gets down to about one degree of separation while re-creating a shot from the movie.

"Trail to San Antone" (Gene Autry, 1947): Stunt jump in the Alabama Hills

In this shot from Republic's "Trail to San Antone," a horse jumps over a car in the Alabama Hills.

The same location as it appears today

Tyler returned from Lone Pine with this photo of the location where the stunt jump was filmed. Snow-covered Lone Pine Peak can be seen in the background of both shots, above the distinctive vertical crack in the rock.

Gene Autry Rock — in "Boots and Saddles" (1937) and more recently

Speaking of Gene Autry, one of Lone Pine's most famous rocks is named after him. Here the curved rock tower known as "Gene Autry Rock" is seen with Autry in "Boots and Saddles" and with Tyler in a modern re-creation.

"Hop-a-Long Cassidy" (Paramount, 1935) — and Tyler's contemporary re-creations

The Western character most closely identified with Lone Pine is Hopalong Cassidy, so naturally Tyler has walked in the footsteps of the original "Hoppy," William Boyd.

A Greg Parker tour at the 2019 Lone Pine Film Festival

Sometimes we get fun reminders that Lone Pine and Iverson are both part of a larger community of movie location enthusiasts. On Lone Pine tour guide Greg Parker's "Hop-a-Long Cassidy" tour at this year's festival, Tyler and Greg found out they had both been looking for Iverson's elusive "Stranglehold Rock."

Have a cowboy Christmas (or holiday of your choice), everybody!